Goodnight, Elle
by DeborahsFrench
Summary: Gideon is wondering why his feelings have changed for Elle, and realises just as tragedy strikes. One-Shot.


**So I have been on a search all week for a 'Creative Writing Course' during the summer in Liverpool. There are none. -_- Which lead me to asking a friend off of Tumblr for a prompt and a couple.**

**She was very helpful and I thank her dearly.**

**The prompt was 'Sleeping Together' - In a non-sexual way.**

**This is for you, bowserbabe, and I hope you like it.**

It was late, so very late. He lay in bed, a foreign bed. A bed that definitely was not his, and wondered how the hell he ended up here. No, he did not go out and get drunk, forgetting that he had work in the morning and ending up in bed with some poor woman.

Then his eyes locked down onto the sleeping woman next to him. Definitely not a one night stand. He would not abuse her like that. Elle Greenaway was worth far more than she gave herself credit for.

Looking over her body, he realised the slow breathing she was doing. The small, miniscule laboured breaths. She seemed in pain. But she was still fast asleep. Her right arm, that lay on top of the covers, was bruised. A man's hand print seemingly wrapped around her forearm. Bandages lay around her right wrist. Not that the marks were that bad. Actually, they were only bleeding a small bit, but something that was worrying him was the fact that her head wound, that lay right in the line where her hair met her forehead, was still bleeding, and it was bleeding through the white gauze and bandage the doctor's had put over it.

He told himself not to worry. Head wounds always bled more than other cuts. It's nothing to get in a panic about. Still, he reminded himself to keep a close eye on her.

Elle had fallen asleep with some ease, which worried him even further. She had a concussion. She should not be sleeping anyway. But he let her. She did need the rest. As long as he could check on her every couple of hours. Maybe it was a bad idea now. Should he wake her and see if she was feeling okay?

Gideon gave a sigh, which left him satisfied when Elle did not even stir next to him.

"I should have kept a closer eye on her." He mumbled.

Looking to her sleeping form again.

"I promised I'd never let anything like that happen to her."

Wrapping the blanket tighter around Elle's body, he frowned.

It had only been a couple of months ago that he was having to tell the team that the brunette on their video footage of a hostage situation was Elle. His heart stopped.

Poor Elle. His Elle.

Letting himself move a finger over the lower half of her right arm, he ran a soft finger over her skin - she had Goosebumps - he noted and pulled the blanket around to her shoulder.

Slipping away again, he thought about that day.

Handcuffed to the train seat, cut cheek, she looked very worse for wear.

Then he had to send in Reid.

He wondered for many days after that situation why he was still more worried about Elle on that train. After all, they were both his colleagues. Family. Then he reminded himself that he should have been more worried about Reid; Elle could have held her own. Reid, well, he could not.

Gideon told himself, after the week of pondering, that he was more worried about Elle because Bryer already knew she worked in the government. He would have no questions in shooting her.

Yes, that was a good reason.

So then why did it hurt him so when she called him Dad?

The second the train doors had opened, and a herd of SWAT entered the train, the moment he heard 'Clear!' Jason Gideon raced on that train. Reid was fine. He was relaying information about the shot Doctor. Elle, was still stuck to her chair, trying to drag her wrist out of the cuffs. Not a care in the world as to if it was hurting her or not.

He saw that look on her face, the same look she had worn the first day he met her: Determination.

Pulling his own cuff keys from his belt, he waved them at her.

"You're going to hurt yourself." It was a simple statement. One that threw Elle off the rails.

"Me 'hurt myself'. He just shot someone with my gun, Gideon!"

Jason groaned, "I know, Elle. But the ambulance team think she is going to make it. They said she had lost a lot of blood, but she would be fine."

Elle looked away, and Gideon could not help but see the tears in her eyes, he tilted her head back to look at him.

"None of this is your fault, Elle. You could not have known."

She gave him a small nod, "But I should have been able to disarm him... Shoot him before he harmed anyone else. Anything that didn't lead to this." Elle now cradled her sore wrist.

"I know. But you couldn't. He had already done it before you realised what happened. And that's okay. You made it out okay, and you saved a lot of people in the process. This was you, Elle."

Elle gave him an unsure look, "But Reid, he pretty much saved the day."

"No, Elle. He only could have because you helped him. You were the one that mentioned it being embedded in the skin. Your quick thinking. You. If you hadn't have helped him out, I am pretty sure there would have been a lot more tragedy on this train." She gave the faintest hint of a nod, "Alright, now let's get you checked out."

Offering her a hand, Gideon helped her outside to meet a team of quite relieved profilers and their Media Liaison.

"Thank God you're okay." JJ spoke first and Elle looked down to the floor, "You are okay, right?"

"Yeah, just peachy." Came her slightly sarcastic answer.

"She's just off to get checked out." Gideon said, and Elle groaned. Beginning her marching orders over to the ambulance on her own.

She was stopped by a light hand taking a hold of her unharmed wrist.

"Elle."

"Hey, Reid."

Gideon could not remember the rest, turning away and looking over to Hotch to begin some work talk. The next thing he had known, a member of the ambulance crew was coming over to him, and saying Elle should get properly checked out at the hospital.

"Gideon, will you tell him I don't need to go to the hospital." Elle moaned.

"Regulations are regulations, Elle. You alright?" He asked, walking back over to her, making sure she was still fine. Maybe she had had a turn for the worst.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad."

It hit like a ton of bricks. 'Dad'.

But why did it hurt him so much?

He did not know.

"We'll meet at the hospital, and Elle..." She looked to him, "Don't ever call me 'Dad' again."

A small smile played at his lips as he looked back to her sleeping form. She could really be some sarcastic bitch at times... But he loved it.

There was a pause.

He loved it.

His brow wrinkled in confusion.

Did he love Elle?

Actually love Elle.

Not just in the family relationship they had going on at work. As in something a little more.

Pushing the thought right to the back of his mind, he ran a hand over the bruise on the top of her arm, the blanket having fallen a little.

He swore he would never let her get in another situation like that. Promised himself. Promised her. Yet, here they were. Today was too close for him. He could have lost her.

He had always known she was impatient. Really impatient. He told her so the first day they met. Gideon did not know why he was expecting her to act any different. They went to a house. The last one on their list.

Screams. The first thing they heard.

Then there was movement inside the house.

Dead silence.

"Gideon, it's him, he's the UnSub."

"Elle, let me call backup."

One minute. They always say that is all it takes when you lose your child.

He turned his back for two. Two whole minutes in which he told Hotch where they where, who the UnSub was and that they would have the area secure. He would not get out. He'd make sure.

In that time, Elle had snuck into the house.

"Gideon!" He heard a cry.

The lump in his throat grew. "Elle? Elle?" He looked around. "Hotch, I'll call back."

The second he had his phone away, his gun was out and he was walking around the house to find Elle. She was not there.

"Damn it, Elle. I said wait!"

Without another thought, he pushed the door open to the main house, and slowly walked through the hallway.

Everything seemed still. No movement within the house. Not even his co-workers cries for help. Deadly still. First he walked into the kitchen. A bloodied woman's body lay on the floor. Their latest victim. After checking for a pulse, then around the back of the doors and in each little nook and cranny, he moved to the living room. It stunk. Stale.

Then his heart stopped. An unconscious Elle was slumped against the wall. Her wrist handcuffed to the radiator pipe. As quick as he could, he tried to get his key out, let her leave.

"Elle, wake up, Elle!"

There was a nudge in the back of his neck.

"Leave the woman alone. Drop your weapon."

As slowly as he could, he placed the gun on the floor, within the reach of his female colleague and turned around. Arms raised above him.

"You don't need to do this." Reasoning. He knew it would not work. The profile had told them so. But it was worth a try, right?

No more words were passed, the UnSub cocked his gun, aiming first for Elle.

That was the last straw. His finger lightly pressing the trigger. Gideon took his chance and tackled him to the floor.

The gun shot rang out. Debris fell from the ceiling. With a swift move that Morgan would be quite proud of, he disarmed the UnSub and handcuffed him to one of the pipes on the wall. At that moment he did not even care if the pipes were hot or not. If they were, he deserved it. He harmed Elle. Elle.

Rushing back to her, he saw a semi-conscious smile on her face. "Hey." She groggily said, with pain in each letter.

"Hi." Gideon began to un-cuff her. "What hurts, Elle?" He asked.

"Mmm, no-" She tried to protest. Not working.

"Don't even lie, Elle. Are you alright while I see where Hotch is? Try not to go back to sleep, okay?" As he smoothed the hair away from her forehead, his hand was covered with blood. Gideon refrained from cursing out loud, as not to worry her.

"No. Please. I could do with the air." How could he say no to her pleading eyes?

"Alright. Careful." With slow, painful steps, he helped her out onto the front porch of the house, and sat down next to her.

Cursing and the clink of metal against metal was behind them; but he knew the UnSub would not get out of those, especially after he tightened the handcuffs so tight he knew he was restricting his blood flow. The son of a bitch deserved it.

"Elle, I need you to tell me what hurts." He said, phone pressed to one ear, obviously on the phone to Hotch and an ambulance.

"My head." Was all she gave him. But he could see from the bruise slowly appearing on her arm that it must have been painful. Where she had pulled against the handcuffs, he found red raw skin, and the slight hint of blood showing from the small cuts. Her arm was slung around her ribs, he knew the UnSub must have gotten in a good kick or two.

"Okay, they're almost here." There was silence, when Gideon felt her head slump against his shoulder. "Elle. Elle." He turned. Her head rested in his lap. "Elle, wake up."

She never did.

Then the ambulance sirens came.

Three bruised ribs, a bruised and cut right arm and wrist and a severe concussion. Elle never did regain consciousness. Not until she was secure in a hospital bed. He did not know whether to tell her off for wondering off, or to say sorry for not getting there sooner. Gideon did a little bit of both.

It was not until after he volunteered to stay home with her, make sure she really was fine and that she did not hurt herself while under the painkillers she was on, that he realised he might have had feelings for her.

Real feelings.

Love feelings.

Settled on the couch those hours later, he heard a slight moan from her bedroom. It worried him automatically. There was no way he was going to be late to save her this time.

Opening her bedroom door and switching on the bedside lamp, he sighed. Elle was in the throws of a nightmare. A pretty bad one by the looks of it. Definitely not good. From the thrashing in her bed, he knew he had to wake her up. Try anything to keep her from hurting herself further.

"Elle." Gently he shook her left shoulder.

She woke with a start. Almost hitting him in the process. That was until she cried out from the pain in her ribs.

"Let me get your painkillers." Gideon does not know why he did it, but he leant down and pressed a kiss just under the bandage on her forehead.

When he returned with the painkillers and a glass of water, he could see she had been crying. Tears stained her face, she was struggling to take proper breaths. If it was her ribs or a panic attack he was unsure.

First thing he did was make sure she took the painkiller, then he slowly began to help her calm down.

"You need to breath. Nice deep breaths." He coached her, and she would have laughed had she not been panicking. But she did as he said. "Good."

Not so good, after she finally too the breaths and calmed down, she found herself sobbing into her hands again and Jason did all he knew to do.

He climbed on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Letting her cry into him. The sobs soon subsided as the concussion and the painkillers took over her, dragging her into a restless sleep.

Carefully, Gideon wrapped the blanket around her body, making sure it was tucked in properly. Then he kissed her again. Reminding himself that he really had to stop doing that. As he went to leave the room, he heard a faint voice. "No. Stay." It was barely audio able. But the house was silent so he definitely heard it.

Softly, he lay on the opposite half of her double bed. "Okay?"

"Mmm. Feel safer with you here." She admitted, and he almost smiled at her vulnerability. It was quite adorable.

"Sleep, Elle." He told her.

She did.

Now he lay, thinking everything over, keeping a close eye on her. Too close an eye. Watching her soft breaths. Her eyes flicker behind her eye lids. Her lips...

His thoughts trailed off, so much off that he did not realise that Elle had kissed him until he felt her pull away.

"Now that's a good painkiller." She said, a sleepy smile on her face.

"Elle? You're going loopy from the painkillers." He informed her, but could not ignore the tingle she left on his lips.

"No, actually, I am thinking quite clearly. And right now, I think you want this too." Elle took a lot of effort to say that, but it was worth it.

"Elle." His voice was warning, but a smile grew on his face.

"Now climb in and you go to sleep too. After all, what's a slumber party without sleeping." She said, her own eyes dropping to shut.

Gideon climbed in, unsure if it was a good idea or not, but he guessed he would find out the answer in the morning.

"Elle?" He said.

"Mmm?" She did not bother to open her eyes. "No one actually sleeps at slumber parties." He laughed slightly as she whacked him lightly.

"Night." She then succumbed to the sleep that had been threatening to take her for the past five minutes.

Gideon wished he could too. But he was here to keep her safe, make sure he was okay, and if he had to stay awake to do so, he would.

He let his fingers run over the nape of her neck, and then left a kiss in their trail.

"Goodnight, Elle."


End file.
